Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. Viv was the last good thing in his life: helping him rebuild his identity after a career-ending football injury, picking up the pieces when his home life shattered, and healing his pain long after the meds wore off. And now, he’d give anything for one more glimpse of her. But when Cam makes a visit to the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees some kind of apparition. And it isn’t Viv.The apparition’s name is Nina, and she’s not a ghost. She’s a girl from a parallel world, and in this world, Viv is still alive. Cam can’t believe his wildest dreams have come true. All he can focus on is getting his girlfriend back, no matter the cost. But things are different in this other world: Viv and Cam have both made very different choices, things between them have changed in unexpected ways, and Viv isn’t the same girl he remembers. Nina is keeping some dangerous secrets, too, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with who this Viv has become and the part Nina played in his parallel story, he’s forced to choose—stay with Viv or let her go—before the window closes between them once and for all.

~My Review~

Through to You is a riveting tale about a deep love that never dies, and just what one is willing to do to keep that love alive. At least that's how I interpret the main character's initial behavior at start. A few twists tossed into the mix and you'll get a novel that keeps you wanting to find out what's really going on.

We're introduced to Camden, a teen boy struggling to come to terms with losing his girlfriend. It's been two months since her death and it still hurts like it happened just yesterday. As you read you'll also discover Cam's other troubles: his family, and school life. Throughout the story something very out of ordinary takes place, and suddenly it gets clear that things aren't exactly as they seem. It's quite understandable to be grief stricken when you lose someone you loved dearly, even blaming yourself and wish you were gone as well. That all changes on one occasion after visiting the site of the accident.

To be honest, without reading the synopsis I thought it was a real life kind of situation. I had no idea there were going to be apparitions and other paranormal happenings. But I liked how it turned out.

In regards to the characters, Camden was likable. I felt for him in his suffering. He had a complicated relationship with his father and his mother was extremely busy with her work. In my opinion, he saw his shrink more. Mike was truly a good friend, doing his best to be there for Cam and trying to help him through his grief.

Nina's character didn't really captivate me enough. I found her to be some sort of guide into helping Camden understand what was going on but she took forever in doing so. She prolonged the situation too much, which leads me to something else. The writing pace.

The pace was kind of slow in terms of rising action and reaching something major. But I guess it's because Emily wanted to create a situation where the main character was filled with sorrow and she possibly wanted readers to connect with those emotions and relate with him in some way. Another thing was that the premise was a bit confusing until it got to the middle. I liked the twilight zone/alternate reality theme but it wasn't always easy to grasped.

Through to You has an interesting and substantial story-line. This is originality at best. Emily Hainsworth's debut is incomparable and absolutely a breath of fresh air. If you enjoy the eerie kind of young adult reads then this one's for you.

About the Author

Emily Hainsworth was raised in upstate New York, but quickly fled its gray skies for the sunny Rocky Mountains. She currently resides in Denver with her husband and daughter. Through to You is her first novel.

Lucky you! I tried to request this but I didn't get approved. I'm glad you still end up enjoying this despite it's slow pacing and other slight issues. Looking forward reading this! Brilliant review, Shane! :)

Books about losing someone always touch me: I'm not sure why, but I guess that I'm afraid to experience something like that myself. Such a shame that the writing pace is a bit slow, but I would like to give it a try anyway. Thanks for the review!

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